Shielded
by Grape-POP
Summary: Arthur Kirkland had always viewed Ivan Braginski as a cold, emotionless person. It's only when he speaks to him, that he realizes that they truly are alike. Once great empires, now the butt of jokes. Arthur has finally found a friend, somebody to relate to. So what happens when that friendship buds into something more? Will Ivan feel the same way? (BEING EDITED!)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Arthur straightened out his stack of paper, for the fifteenth time, as he pretended to take notes on Francis's too-long speech bragging about his agriculture system. He was exhausted and not a few good mood, considering he woke up too late, arrived late, and wasn't even able to grab a cup of tea before he arrived. His eyelids were heavy with sleep and only getting heavier with boredness. However, he felt the small pin-prick of relief when he looked around the conference and spotted Ivan with his forehead resting against the table, fast asleep. At least he wasn't the only one bored out of his mind.

"And that, is why I think we shoul-"

Arthur let a small sigh of relief slip from his lips as he heard the squeak of a chair leg scraping across the ground as Ludwig quickly stood up from his seat.

"I apologize for the interruption Francis, perhaps you can finish after break?" Ludwig smiled politely and francis simply gave a small nod and smiled smugly and straightened his stack of papers. "Okay everybody, you heard me, I'm calling break. You can head over to the break room or the vending machines. Alfred and Gilbert, when I saw it's break, I do not mean you can leave the building." Ludwig's stern glare swept over the room as alfred and gilbert groaned and muttered grumpily under their breath. Arthur smiled smugly, served them right.

Dishwater tea.

This is exactly how Arthur would describe the cup of milky gray tea in front of him. It was supposed to be Earl Grey, but it was dangerously expired and it smelled musty and sour. Holding his nose, and scowling, Arthur quickly dumped his tea into the sink, glancing around the make sure Ludwig wasn't there to complain about him wasting drinks. Casually humming to himself, he quickly turned around.

"Oof!"

Arthur felt himself crash into something hard, and he stumbled backwards in surprise. Arthur rubbed his head and hissed an insult under his breath. "Jesus, watch where you're going next time, yea-" Arthur quickly stopped himself and bit his tongue, his eyes going as wide as saucers as he found himself staring up into the stone-cold face of Ivan. "Ah, hello Russia! I, uh, didn't notice you there. How's it going? Sorry about bumping into you, big mistake, right?" Arthur chuckled nervously as he forced a smile, slowly stepping to the side. Ivan's cold gaze followed him, his response a simple gruff grunt. "Yeah, well, good seeing you. I have to go, but...yeah. See you later." With an uncomfortable smile still plastered to his face, he quickly pushed past Ivan and headed over to where Alfred and Francis were seated. Alfred was busy stuffing his face and francis boredly scrolled through his phone.

"Angleterre, finally! what did you think of my speech? Very important, oui?" Francis smiled smugly as he set down his phone, shouldering Alfred. "Oh, yeah. Agriculture. Very, er, important." Arthur lied. Alfred nodded his head agreement all the while, shooting arthur a strange look.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. What I'm wondering, is why you were talking to Russia." Alfred mumbled through a mouthful of his food.

"Keep your mouth shut while you're eating! And why do you need to know anyway? It's none of your business." Arthur waved his hand dismissively, shooting a sharp glare at alfred. "Suspicious. Now I'm curious too angleterre, why _were_ you talking to him?" Francis smiled deviously, a curious glint in his eyes. Arthur rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed huff as he finally sat down, still glaring at the two. "If you must know, I wasn't talking to him. I bumped into him and got away as soon as possible, he doesn't look like he's in a good mood." Arthur explained quietly, giving a quick nod towards where Ivan sat alone with a newspaper lying in front of him. "Well obviously! He's not acting as insane as usual. Well...Actually, he is. But you know, the quiet creepy type. Other times it's the weirdly happy creepy type. Ugh. I heard Ukraine is angry with him and, well, Belarus is probably off killing somebody." Alfred explained. Arthur wasn't really listening, his attention had drifted from Alfred and Francis to where Ivan sat silently scanning the newspaper. "He looks lonely." Arthur mentioned, ignoring the puzzled glances Francis and Alfred exchanged. "Uh...Yeah? So?" Alfred took another bite of his burger, shooting a hard glare at the Russian man. Arthur shrugged, feeling more sympathetic than before. "Maybe we should invite him over. He doesn't seem too violent at the moment, does he?" Arthur tore his gaze away as he heard Alfred choke on his food and Francis sputtering nervously. "What!? Angleterre, is your old age really getting to you!?" Francis hissed in a hushed tone, as if Ivan might've overheard them. Alfred rapidly nodded his head. "I agree with Francis on this one! Russia is completely insane, that commie's not coming to _my_ table!"

Arthur ignored Alfred's comment, instead standing up from his chair.

He had never actually had a conversation with Ivan, he had only heard rumors about him being cruel and insane(which mostly came from Alfred) and somehow he could relate, not to the cruel and insane part of course! But he could relate to once being a powerful nation and now the butt of everybody's jokes.

"England? England, where are you going!?"

"Angleterre, come back!"

Arthur ignored the calls of Alfred and Francis as he cautiously made his way towards Ivan's table, smiling hesitantly.  
"Iva-Er, Russia! Hello."

Arthur stopped a few steps away from the table, holding up a hand and waving it softly. Ivan looked up, the previous frown still plastered to his face, one eyebrow quirked up in what Arthur assumed was confusion. "Hello Arthur." Ivan gave a bored nod towards arthur, his gaze quickly drifting back down to his newspaper as he flipped the page. "Is there anybody sitting here? I mean, can I sit here?" Arthur nodded towards the chair, watching as Ivan once again tore his gaze away from the paper with a rather exasperated look on his face.

"Why?" Ivan fixed Arthur with a curious gaze, which made him squirm uncomfortably. "You were sitting with Alfred and Francis, right? Why did you decide to come over here?" He sounded almost accusing and his violet gaze had turned cold. Arthur's smile faded just a bit as he shuffled his feet, clasping his palms together. "I don't know. Why not? You looked lonely and..well," Arthur paused, trying to think of something up to say, "We can kind of relate, you know? I mean, I know we don't have, uh, similar personalities, but we have similar situations." Arthur forced a smile as he said this, watching Ivan still staring at him with an overly curious glint in his eyes. "You know, I know what it's like to be lonely. I know what it's like to be a 'used-to-be big nation' too. So, I _can_ relate to you, even if it's hard to believe." Arthur added quietly. Ivan's gaze had drifted, once again, back down to his paper, but Arthur could see that his expression had softened slightly. "If that is all, then дa, you may sit down if you want to." Ivan waved a hand towards the empty seat across from him, saying nothing more, and Arthur gratefully sat down.

"Thank you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Luckily for Arthur, the meeting had ended just as Alfred was about halfway through his rant about low-quality fast food. Arthur tried his best not to scoff and roll his eyes the whole first minutes, as the subject highly annoyed him. (Who actually thought fast food was supposed to be high-quality!?) But at least it was better than how break had went.

After inviting himself to Ivan's table and practically forcing himself onto the poor Russian man, he had scored a seat where he sat in uncomfortable silence for twenty minutes until Ludwig had started the meeting again. _Twenty minutes_ of sitting in silence as Ivan quietly flipped through his newspaper and Arthur shifted awkwardly in his seat as he stared at his shoes, his hands, anything but Ivan's violet eyes that peeked curiously up over his paper every few minutes. It would've been fine, if he could have forgotten about it, but it continued to play over and over in his head, causing him to cringe each time. He had tried to make it up by flashing friendly smiles over at Ivan during the last few minutes, but each time, Ivan either frowned with puzzlement or glared and quickly looked away. Lovely. He had probably just made enemies with a not completely sane country.

Arthur's disappointment only worsened as he stepped from the building and spotted the dark storm clouds rolling in, thunder rumbling along with it. Not soon after, fat, cold, raindrops began to plummet from the sky, quickly wetting the ground and Arthur's blonde hair. Looking around with growing disappointment, he soon realized that the two people he would be able to hitch a ride with were already gone, Alfred speeding away in whatever sports car he had gotten over the week and Francis pedaling away on his bicycle with an umbrella in tow. There was always Lukas, but he was already being dragged away by Mathias who decided to have a conversation at the top of his lungs.  
"Excuse me."

Arthur muttered angrily under his breath and whipped around, about to go off on whoever dared pushed him aside while he was in a bad mood. Only to find, once again, Ivan towering over him with a cold frown. Twice in a day. What luck!

"Ivan! Hello! Sorry, I'll, uh, get out of the way." Arthur quickly stepped to the side, watching as Ivan muttered his thanks and quickly headed to the parking lot as rain dotted his thick coat. An idea popped into Arthur's head, but it was risky, and he had to execute it fast before Ivan had walked away. Arthur paused, then took a deep breath. Time to be brave. "Er, Ivan! Wait just a moment! I hate to be a bother, but, is there any chance I could get a ride with you?"

Ivan stopped in his tracks. "I...I suppose, come on."

* * *

Arthur's heart was beating fearfully fast as he sat completely stiff in the passenger seat of Ivan's car. He tried to keep his anxiety of being crammed into a car with Russia himself low-key by instead listening to the music blaring from the speakers, not understanding a word of what was playing. He was a bit surprised by Ivan's music taste too, Rap and Pop, which seemed...off.

"I noticed your sisters weren't around today." Arthur mentioned meekly, only hoping to shatter the almost choking silence. Ivan kept his eyes fixed on the road, his mouth in a tight, straight, line. "Ah. Yes. Natalia was off doing business and Irunya...Well, Irunya seems to be a bit upset with me." He muttered gloomily.  
Arthur felt the corners of his lips tug upward, as it was quite funny to see Ivan looking like a dejected puppy. "She never stays mad for long. It was just a stupid little argument." Ivan added hopefully, in which earned a muffled snicker from Arthur. "Mm. I suppose that's right. Natalia is the one who holds a grudge." Arthur agreed. Ivan frowned, his gaze traveling to Arthur, who had a goofy smile across his face. Ivan's frown softened into a comfortable smile, and the two lapsed into a peaceful silence.

It was nice having the meeting in London for once, for it took only a few minutes for the car to sputter to a stop in front of Arthur's house. However, the trip surprisingly hadn't been so bad. The quiet was okay, and Arthur felt strangely more comfortable when he saw that Ivan was smiling along with him. Arthur pulled his coat closer to him as he swung open the door, and he paused to turn around and shoot a grin over at Ivan. "I really appreciate the ride, I can't thank you enough! I mean it." Arthur waited as Ivan gave a nod of his head before he turned and walked up to his doorsteps.  
"Er...Arthur? Wait just a moment."

Arthur froze, the shock settling in that Ivan was _actually speaking_ to him. He quickly turned around, a stupidly puzzled expression on his face. "Y-Yes?" Arthur tilted his head to the side, feeling himself eager for a reply. Ivan was leaning half-out the rolled down window, one arm casually draped over the side of the car, but his eyes displayed a strange bit of nervousness. He stayed quiet for a moment, as if debating whenever or not he should speak his mind. "I, erm, I was wondering if you'd like to grab a drink maybe…" Ivan glanced from Arthur to the steering wheel, taking a sharp breath as he waited tensely. Arthur still felt the cold shock flood through him, but he couldn't help but feel a cheerful grin ripple across his face and he paused to dig in his pockets for a scrap of paper before walking back over to Ivan's car. Even if it was Russia, a drink was never something to turn down.

"Yeah, totally. Here. There's a nice bar down the road, The Royal Peasant. This Saturday perhaps? 8:00?" Arthur scribbled the details onto the ripped piece of paper, slipping it to Ivan, who was staring at him with surprised wide eyes. "Um, дa! That sounds...great. I will see you then, then." Ivan paused, as if he were about to say something more. "Bye Engl-Arthur. Goodbye." Ivan smiled shyly and gave a small wave as he rolled up the window, pulling out of Arthur's driveway and advancing down the road.

Meanwhile, while Arthur had gone inside to make himself a 'cuppa, Ivan still had a smile on his face as he drove back to his hotel. After all, he had just made a friend.

A _true_ friend.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Arthur stood in front of the mirror, intently inspecting himself in the mirror.

Several different outfits that hadn't made the cut were strewn across his room, a couple of pairs of shoes thrown around along with the clothes. It had taken at least ten minutes for him to pick out an outfit, and he usually wasn't picky, but he didn't want to put off a friend from work. Therefore, he wasn't sure if he should wear something more formal or casual. The constant buzzing of his phone as Alfred bombed his messages wasn't making it any easier.

After turning down an invitation from alfred to go to a football game, alfred was whining and demanding a reason why, but arthur decided it'd be best not to give his reasons. Plus, he wasn't going to play maid fetching food and drinks for alfred while he watched some stupid game that wasn't even football.

Arthur grimaced just thinking about it, and he begun to pull of the blue button-up shirt he had, reaching for yet another outfit. He quickly stopped himself however, pausing to once again look at himself in the mirror. A pair of snugly fit jeans and the periwinkle button-up.

Close enough.

* * *

" _The Royal Peasant"_

The dusky wood words creaked as they hung in front of the store. Arthur stared at his reflection, flattening down a tuft of straying hair and brushing off his jeans. He was always nervous when meeting up with 'coworkers' as he never knew how to act, always afraid that he was acting too formal when it was most likely his own anxiety telling him these things. Arthur's worry melted a way only a little bit when he spotted Ivan already sitting at the bar inside, a few empty shot glasses laid out in front of him. Arthur smirked and rolled his eyes, swinging open the door and strolling in. He gave a polite nod and a complimentary smile to the pleasant jazz band playing before taking a seat beside Ivan, who looked up with a sloppy grin.

"Arthur, hello! It's good to see you." Ivan stood up abruptly from his seat, pulling Arthur into a tight hug and clapping him on the shoulder. The sudden contact only caused Arthur to freeze and tense up but he managed to smile tightly and give Ivan a light pat on the back, completely aware of the puzzled look the bartender was giving him.

"Can I get you something?" The woman finally spoke from behind the counter, giving Arthur the chance to tear away from Ivan's bearhug.

"Just a pint of Scotch, please." Arthur replied. "And another shot of Vodka." Ivan added cheerfully, flopping back down into his previous seat. The bartender smiled, scribbled something down onto her notepad and quickly walked away with her clicking high-heels, leaving Arthur to take a seat beside Ivan.

"I see you already started without me." Arthur regarded, amusement twinkling in his eyes as he watched Ivan looked over the empty shot glasses. "Um...Yes. It looks that way doesn't it? Don't fret! You can catch up!" Ivan replied cheerfully, giving Arthur a playful shove that almost sent Arthur tumbling out of his seat. "Mm. Yes, I suppose." Arthur agreed as he watched a cup of scotch land in front of his face. "Just a few drinks though, just a few." He promised himself.

* * *

"I can't remember where I parked my car!"  
Arthur stumbled across the parking lot, glancing blindly around as he whined loudly. Ivan followed silently behind, watching Arthur with a curious frown. They had gotten booted from the bar an hour ago after Ivan had gotten into a drunken fight with another customer, pummeling his opponent while Arthur laughed and cheered him on, and then of course the two got dragged out of the bar bitterly complaining.

" _Did_ you park your car?" Ivan called from behind him, his voice was slurred and his accent had set in heavily. Arthur stopped in his tracks, his eyebrows furrowing in annoyance. "No. I crashed into a tree." He snapped, his words dripping with sarcasm. Ivan shook his head as he let out a heavy sigh. "You know Arthur, you shouldn't do that. It's not good for your car." Ivan mentioned, sounding disappointed. Arthur snorted and rolled his eyes, not bothering to reply. "Um...Yeah, sure. Listen, let's just walk back to my house. It's only, like, a block away. You can sleep on the couch," Arthur offered. Ivan raised both eyebrows and lazily shrugged. "Or the floor if you prefer." Arthur added. "I'll take the couch." Ivan replied quickly. "Whatever, let's get going. I think I'm going to hurl." Arthur muttered. With Ivan quietly laughing, and Arthur angrily scowling at him, the two drunkenly stumbled off, in the direction they presumed Arthur's house was.

It should've been a short trip, ten minutes tops, but it was at least twenty minutes before they reached Arthur's house. The two often took short breaks, arguing over pointless things and occasionally staring at nothing in particular.

An extra five minutes were added to the twenty minutes it took them, as Arthur fumbled with his keys for awhile as he tried to insert them into the keyhole. Ivan was no help either, instead complaining(or at least what Arthur presumed was complaining, for he was speaking rapidly in Russian) and drumming his fingers along the wall.

"Aha! I told you I'd get it...Sometime."

Arthur grinned triumphantly and swung the door open, stumbling in with Ivan following. "Would you like tea? I have Earl Gray, and Peppermint, and erm…Do you feel sick?" Arthur paused, turning around to wear Ivan had already tossed his coat carelessly onto the floor. Dark spots swam in front of his eyes, and his stomach felt like it was twisted in knots. He knew something was wrong when he saw the concerned frown of Ivan as he placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder, well, that and the fact that he was falling face forward.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

 _ **Arthur's vision was fuzzy as he watched Ivan tower over him. A lazy grin spread across Arthur's face while Ivan wore his usual stoic frown.**_

 _ **A fit of stupidly drunken giggling escaped Arthur's lips as he felt Ivan's cold fingers nimbly unbutton the front of his shirt, lingering just for a few seconds upon his skin.**_

" _ **What the bloody hell are you doing? Stop it!"**_

 _ **Arthur playfully smacked away Ivan's hand, earning an annoyed hiss. Ivan quickly grabbed hold of Arthur's wrists, pushing them down. Arthur's laughter died down and he closed his eyes, enjoying the cool relief of Ivan's hand as he briefly rested his palm in the middle of Arthur's chest.**_

" _ **What are you doing?" Arthur murmured, eyes still closed, smile still on his face.**_

" _ **Checking for fever," Ivan replied bluntly, tearing his hand away. Arthur rolled to his side, tugging the blankets up closer to him.**_

" _ **Are you going to hurt me?"**_

 _ **Arthur's tone was surprisingly innocent as he opened one green eye, peering up at Ivan with a small smirk on his face. Both Arthur's eyes blinked open when no response came, and he found Ivan sitting on the bed beside him, completely silent as if he were in deep thought.**_

" _ **No. I wouldn't hurt you. Why would anybody do that?"**_

 _ **Arthur frowned in puzzlement and heaved himself up into a sitting position beside Ivan, who shifted away a few inches.**_

" _ **I don't know. Maybe. If it'd help your country…" Arthur's smile melted from his face as he spoke, Ivan's expression stayed the same, a cold frown.**_

" _ **Mm. Дa, that is true, isn't it? I wouldn't do that though. We are friends, aren't we?"**_

 _ **Ivan felt strangely curious waiting for Arthur's response, and he found himself gazing into the emerald green eyes of Arthur.**_

" _ **Yeah...Yeah, we are, aren't we? But I'm sure all of my 'friends' have hated me once or twice." Arthur mumbled. Ivan raised an eyebrow, suddenly a bit more interested. "Really? Who would do that?" His voice was quiet, but prodding, and he saw Arthur tense up at the question.**_

 _ **He shook his head, closing his eyes for a couple of minutes. "I dunno know...People. Other people." Arthur replied blandly.**_

" _ **Well, I wouldn't hurt you. I think you are a good friend, and I won't let anybody else hurt you either, I like hanging out with you Arthur."**_

 _ **Arthur kept his head down, but Ivan could see a small, shy, smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "That's sappy." He mumbled, lightly punching Ivan's shoulder. "Sappy, but true." Ivan smiled and watched as Arthur flopped back down, rolling over to his side so that he wasn't facing Ivan, but Ivan could tell he wasn't quite asleep.  
**_ " _ **Thanks, Ivan. You're a good friend, you know that?"  
**_ " _ **...You are too, Arthur."**_

* * *

Arthur woke in the familiar blue sheets of his bed, a sharp pain ringing throughout his head.

His mouth and throat felt dry, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he felt a wave of nausea crash over him. He slowly sat up, his eyebrows furrowing as he sat up and stretched as much as he could without tipping off his bed.

Memories came flooding back, giving him a throbbing headache. He remembered going to a bar with Ivan, getting trashed, and something about lying in bed. Nothing else. Every time he tried to reach back into his memories, it only sharpened his headache.

He tried not to worry about it, but he could feel his heart thumping inside his chest. He groaned as he massaged his temples, closing his eyes. It was quite possible that he had completely made a fool of himself in front of somebody from work. Not good at all. Trying to distract himself, he slowly stepped out of bed, his head spinning. He was parched, and a cup of water would help his sore throat. Maybe even freshen his memories.

Arthur swung his bedroom door open, cringing at the loud creak it made. Every single noise only managed to contribute to his growing headache. He stepped quietly down the hall, around the corner into the living room, and straight to the kitchen.  
Except, not exactly.

Quickly retracing his steps, he found himself back in the living room, where his eyes stayed fixated on the lump splayed out on his couch. It, the lump, was covered by a blue throw blanket that was rising up and down slowly, which meant there was a real, living, person underneath it.

Eyes wide with fear, Arthur snatched the nearest thing to him, a hardcover book that rested on a small wooden desk to the left of him. He slowly crept forward, the book raised slightly as he leaned forward slightly, slowly peeling off the blanket.  
"Ivan?"

It was Ivan alright. His cheeks were a scarlet red, a sharp contrast against his pale skin. Ivory hair hung in his face and his eyes were lightly shut, his thick eyelashes touching just the tip of his cheekbones. His chest rose slowly up and down as he snored quietly.

"Ivan! Ivan, wake the hell up!"

Arthur shook Ivan's arm, still holding the book. He backed away a bit as he heard Ivan groan and roll over, throwing an arm over his face.

"IVAN!"

Ivan bolted up, his head shooting up as he stifled a yawn. "Eh? Что?" Ivan rubbed his eyes, blinking them open and peering curiously at Arthur. "Ah, Arthur. Good morning." Ivan swung his feet over the couch, nearly avoiding Arthur. He slowly stood up, staggering a bit and quickly gripping Arthur's shoulder to steady himself. Arthur gently brushed Ivan's head off, putting his book down and taking a step back.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur questioned. Ivan looked up from the floor, obviously surprised. "You don't remember? Last night?" He sounded shocked, which only made Arthur more anxious. "Last night? No. What happened last night?" Arthur questioned urgently. Ivan inspected Arthur's face for more than a few seconds as if he were trying to find something hidden in his expression. "N-Nevermind…" He mumbled, shaking his head.

"No, no, what happened last night? You make it sound like I did something horrible. What the hell did I do?" Arthur snapped. "I can't exactly remember Arthur. If you don't remember, I drank quite a lot too last night. I have a major headache." Ivan replied, frowning as he massaged his temples. Arthur sighed quietly, although wanting answers, he understood how Ivan felt.

"Huh, well, I understand. Since you're here, would you like breakfast, I can cook." Arthur offered.  
"Uh, yes! But why don't I cook, it's no problem." Ivan added quickly.

Arthur shrugged.

* * *

Arthur watched Ivan closely as the man carefully made his way around the kitchen, a strangely delicious aroma already filling the room. It was a surprise, at least in Arthur's house.

"So, you don't remember _anything_ from last night?"

Arthur watched as Ivan stopped in front of the stove, flipping what looked like a pancake in the pan. He turned around, spatula still in his hand. "No. I promise, and what about you Arthur?" Ivan pointed the spatula almost accusingly at Arthur, and Arthur tried his best not to scoff.

"Nope. Not at the moment." He muttered in reply. Ivan smiled and turned around, flipping the pancakes onto a plate and walking over with a bottle of jam in his other hand.

"Blinis, Russian pancakes you may call them. Good with jam, caviar too."

Ivan set the plate down in the middle of the table, placing two on Arthur's awaiting plate and two on his own,

"Mm." Arthur was too distracted to listen, but he ate anyway, only a few bites before he set down his fork and watched Ivan with cautious curiosity.

"Are you hiding something from me?"

He was trying to be cautious with his words, and his tone. He kept his voice quiet and tried to make it as non-accusing as possible but he could see Ivan's expression immediately harden.

"Nyet. Why would I lie to you?" His words were guarded, and his tone was sharp and icy.

"Well, it's obvious you're pretty upset about something!" Arthur snapped, letting out a dry, harsh, laugh. His headache was getting to him, making his mood even worse. Ivan's eyes narrowed and he pushed his plate away, not very interested in his food anymore. "How do I seem upset? I cooked breakfast for you, how is that upset?" Ivan retorted. Arthur swiped his tongue over his dry lips, feeling anger flush throughout his whole body. "I don't know, you just seem fucking upset! And I think I have a right to know what happened last night!" Arthur stood up, his knee slamming against the bottom of the table as he jolted up. Ivan stayed seated, glaring up at Arthur with pure annoyance.

"Nothing. Happened. You were drunk, you blabbered on and on, something about friends I believe? Nothing important. This is the second time I will tell you, I was just as drunk, I don't remember much of what you said anyway. But you don't have to believe me, " Ivan's voice was deadly calm, but raising with every word he spat. He stood up, shoving his plate away and stomping towards the door, snatching his coat from the arm of a chair on the way out.

"Wait, wait! Please, Ivan, wait!"

Arthur quickly trailed after, catching Ivan's sleeve just as the Russian man swung the door open. Ivan yanked his arm away and Arthur froze for a minute, almost expecting to be hit. Ivan's back was still facing Arthur, and he didn't seem to be turning around to face him anytime soon.

"I'm sorry. I'm super fucking tired, totally hungover, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be accusing you when it's my fault, and I'm really, seriously, sorry."

Arthur took a deep breath, his voice already quivering.

"I trust you, and I'm sorry if I made it out like I didn't."  
He repeated because truth was, Ivan was an actual person who he could relate to and share his troubles with. Somebody who wouldn't judge him because of one stupid fucking thing, because they had done it once or twice themselves.

"I forgive you, Arthur. It's not only your fault, I'm just a bit irritated. I didn't get much sleep last night. But I still have to leave, it's late, and Belarus will be worried. But...I do forgive you. I'll see you, later."

Arthur smiled weakly, he desperately wished Ivan would turn around, but his forgiveness was enough.

"Thank you...I'll see you later then. Goodbye Ivan."

Arthur waited, feeling strangely nervous.

"Goodbye Arthur."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Mondays were horrible, but this one seemed to be worse than ever.

On Sunday, after his horribly awkward and embarrassing situation with Ivan, Arthur had drifted back to his study where he worked on a few documents for a couple hours straight before promptly dozing off.

He was awakened by his increased headache, hastily making a cup of Earl Grey before he remembered it was a Monday. Which meant work. Checking his watching, he found that he was ten minutes late.

 _Ten minutes late._

After miserably tossing his cup of Earl Grey, he tugged on a clean 'work-appropriate' outfit on and dashed out the door. Even worse, it was perfectly sunny out, clashing with his horrible mood. It was like the day was shaming him for not being merry and bright. But, it was most likely his imagination.

* * *

Arthur cracked open the door to the meeting door, already beginning to let a fumbled apology unfurl from his lips. However, he found the room completely empty and silent, the ticking of the clock the only thing that made a noise. Strange. Arthur glanced down at is watch. Now twenty minutes late. Could this be some elaborate prank? He could see Alfred planning such a thing but he was _sure_ that Ludwig wouldn't do such a thing.

"Hello?"  
Arthur checked his watch again, this time it had stopped completely. He tapped it several times, finally directing his gaze towards the larger clock in the corner of the room.

 _6:57_

"God damn it…"

He was early, the bloody watch wasn't working! Arthur stomped over to his seat, sliding his suitcase underneath the table as he took a seat. Knowing that he was wasting time, he pulled out a stack of papers from his suitcase. Getting to work, he began to organize the already organized papers.

By 7:03, his head was resting on the table and he was staring bored at the walls. Now he truly was just wasting time.

"Excuse me? Is there anybody here?"

Arthur felt his face flush red as he heard the door creak open and he quickly sat up, nearly knocking his papers off the table. He quickly stood up from his chair and watched as Ivan strode in, taking his seat. Arthur forced an awkward but polite smile and dipped his head, sitting back done.

"Hello, Ivan! I didn't think anybody else would be here this early." Arthur greeted cheerfully. Ivan barely looked up from his papers as he spoke, "I see. I have some unfinished work, so I was hoping to finish before the meeting started." Ivan replied smoothly. Arthur nodded his head, keeping the forced smile on his face. "Ah, well, go ahead! I won't bother you." Arthur reassured. Arthur thought Ivan had smiled, but he couldn't exactly tell with the thick scarf wrapped around his neck. He watched curiously as Ivan pulled out a red pen, beginning to write in fast and fluid motions. Arthur tried for a few moments to read what he was writing, but he gave up not soon after when he realized that Ivan was writing in both cursive _and_ Russian.

"So, what exactly are you working on?" Arthur was desperate to break the silence, he had already had enough of it. "Classified." Ivan replied simply. Arthur frowned and glanced away, suddenly feeling even more awkward and a bit hurt even, but he reminded himself that it probably private work.

"You're not angry at me, are you?"  
Arthur felt relieved for a few minutes, but it faded as he watched Ivan look up from his papers, one eyebrow raised higher than the other in his signature 'confused' expression.

"Angry, why would I be angry?"  
Ivan set his pen down, now watching Arthur with a curious gaze, tilting his head slightly. "I don't know...I feel like I upset you yesterday." Arthur mumbled. "Nyet. There was no harm done." Ivan offered a warm smile towards Arthur before he began to start his writing again. Arthur shifted in his seat and fell silent, still watching Ivan as he wrote. After a moment, Ivan stopped writing again. He still held the pen in his hand as he spoke, "I...I know I can be hard to trust. But I wouldn't lie, not to you at least…" His words were so quiet that Arthur barely heard, but he managed.

His face turned a bright red and he was suddenly even more aware that they were the only two inside the room.

"Yes...Well, then, you can expect the same of m-"

The sound of the door being swung open interrupted Arthur's words, and Ivan jumped slightly, spilling a drop of red ink on his papers. Francis trailed into the room, Matthew and Alfred following behind him.

"Excusez Moi? Am I interrupting something? A confession perhaps?" Francis smiled smugly and glanced from Ivan to Arthur, both of which seemed to be glaring daggers at the Frenchman. Alfred gagged from behind Francis and Matthew simply shook his head apologetically.

"Yes, you did interrupt something you bearded bastard! The peacefulness in the room before _you_ entered." Arthur snapped. Francis scowled and flicked back a lock of blonde hair, waving a hand angrily in front of Arthur's face. " _Hello_ , there _is_ no peacefulness when _you_ two are in the room!" Francis retorted. Arthur looked like he had gotten slapped as he stood up, standing inches away from Francis. "Excuse me!? Says the disgusting fro-"

"Please stop!"

Matthew quickly intervened, grabbing Francis's arm and tugging him away. Alfred snickered and sat down, unwrapping the burger in his hand.

"Don't let Germany see you two fighting, he's coming 'round the corner. The only reason he stopped is because Italy wanted something from the vending machine." Alfred warned them as he took a bite of his burger. Arthur rolled his eyes, sitting down and turning his attention away to avoid witnessing Alfred eating his 'Heart-attack on a bun.'

"You should've come to the game with me and Mattie. It was awesome." Alfred called as he set down his food, flashing a grin to Matthew who shrugged and nodded. "Well it sounds like it was _delightful_ , but I can assure you I had a wonderful time grabbing a drink with Ivan." Arthur replied smugly. Alfred's eyes narrowed and his smile fell to an annoyed frown. "There's no need to lie Iggy." Alfred drawled. "What!? What makes you think I'm lying you stupid bastard! And for the last time, stop calling me tha-"  
"Arthur?"

Arthur quickly sat back down into his seat, realizing that he had been standing up. Ludwig strode into the room, glaring at Alfred and Arthur as he took a seat at the front of the room, Feliciano trailing after him.

"You two had better not be fighting." Ludwig warned. Arthur and Alfred fell quiet, but Arthur couldn't help but notice the small smile that peaked at Ivan's lips. Still keeping a close eye on Alfred and Arthur, Ludwig started the meeting.

"Well then, let's get the meeting started. Alfred, I believe you wanted to speak about an environmental issue?"

And with his smug smile returning, began an hour long discussion about Global Warming...That somehow drifted to a topic of Coca-Cola factories.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

" **A party?"**

 **At the end of the long, dull, and tiring meeting, arthur was more than worn-out.**

" **Yeah, a party! Ever heard of it?"**

 **Arthur had wanted to rush home as soon as the meeting had been called to an end, but he instead he just had to slam right into alfred who wanted nothing more then to stop and chat for ten minutes.**

" **It's on Friday night, you can arrive anywhere from eight to nine, and you can stay all night. I invited everybody, it's going to be awesome!" Alfred grinned as he spoke, slipping a invitation designed like an American flag into arthur's hand. Arthur bit back a sigh of annoyance, Alfred should've already known that arthur would turn down his invitation, it's what happened each time and every time he asked.  
** " **Pleeease?" Alfred clasped his hands together, peering up at arthur with pleading eyes. Arthur pursed his lips ever so slightly, staying silent. "Please arthur! Come on, I have to have everybody there or it won't be as awesome as I want it to be!" Alfred whined, continuing when he noticed arthur hesitating, still not convinced, "Besides, your new 'buddy' Ivan will be there. Mattie forced me to invite him" He added glumly. Alfred frowned, his eyebrows furrowing in annoyance. He wasn't sure how he felt about alfred thinking that ivan being there would convince him, but he was beginning to grow exhausted and he mostly wanted to get back home as always. "Yes, yes, fine! Now please leave me alone and let me go home!" Arthur snapped gruffly, pushing aside alfred as he grinned and pumped his fist in the air, hissing a low, "Yesss!"**

 **Arthur rolled his eyes and huffed, crumpling the invitation into a ball and shoving it into his pocket.**

" **Are you going to Alfred's party?"**

 **Arthur flipped the egg over onto it's other side, keeping his phone balanced and closely pressed to his ear with his other shoulder.**

" **Hm. I have not thought about it all that much, perhaps. What about you?" Ivan's voice came back.**

" **Yeah, I'm going. Not by my will however, alfred harassed me into going." Arthur replied, letting a smile slip across his face when he heard ivan chuckle from across the line.**

" **Да, that sounds like alfred. And...I will probably go to alfred's party, if you'll be there." Ivan added almost hesitantly. A tight frown tugged down arthur's lips and he felt his cheeks tint a rosy pink, his chest tightening slightly.**

" **Arthur? Arthur? Mr. Kirkland? Are you still there?"**

 **Arthur was snapped out his faze and quickly cleared his throat, feeling his whole face growing red. A small yelp, and a quiet curse, escaped arthur's mouth when he glanced down and saw his lunch already beginning to burn and blacken. "Ah, yes, sorry! I have to go, but, uh, I'll see you at alfred's party then?" Arthur asked, hating how hopeful he sounded.  
** " **Of course. I will see you there, goodbye arthur."  
** " **Goodbye ivan."**

 **Arthur hung up, placing his phone down onto the counter. He sighed and peered down with disappointment at his newly burnt lunch. He needed to be more focused, and he wasn't sure why he wasn't.**

" **Mon dieu Arthur, don't take any offense, but I think I may just gag." Francis pinched his nose as he spoke, earning a sharp glare from arthur.  
** " **Yes, jesus arthur, sorry, but what happened?!" Matthew dramatically fanned himself at the smell of the burnt egg.**

" **Shut it! I invited you two to hangout, not critique my cooking!" Arthur snapped, shoving the plate away as francis broke into a fit of laughter.**

" **No need to worry! Me and Matthieu will save you from your horrible food!"  
With that one last insult, francis whisked into the kitchen with matthew flashing an apologetic smile as he quickly followed after francis.**

" **How did you burn it this much anyway?" Matthew asked as he spooned the blackened egg into the trash. Arthur frowned and shot a glare at matthew, which he did not notice, before replying. "Well, I was talking to Ivan, and it seems I got a bit distracted." Arthur replied. Instantly, he regretted it. Francis and matthew had stopped in their tracks, their stares fixated on arthur. Arthur shifted uncomfortably in his seat, returning their curious stares with his own glare.**

" **What!?" He snapped, growing more and more irritated by the minute.**

" **Ivan?" Francis tilted his head, curiousity growing in his gaze. "Yes. So what?" Arthur retorted.**

" **It's just, you two don't seem to be the type to hang out with each other." Matthew piped up, francis nodding in agreement. "Yes, well, don't judge a book by it's cover." Arthur muttered. Francis and matthew exchanged puzzled glances before falling silent and quickly going back to work. After a few moments of inaudible whispering back and forth, francis snapped his fingers and ordered matthew to take over as he made his way over to arthur.**

" **Arthur~"**

 **Arthur groaned, watching as francis rested his elbows onto the table, using that sing-song tune of his voice that arthur knew all too well.**

" **What did you two talk about?" Francis smiled.**

" **We talked about Alfred's party. He said he was going." Arthur replied, keeping his sentence short but sharp.**

" **Mmhm, and that's all?"  
Arthur's eyes narrowed.**

" **Listen, arthur, you two seem to be hanging out a lot. I'm not making assumptions, but I think you should be cautious. Not because of Ivan, just because of...well, you know, love is hard for us." Francis spoke rapidly, his smile weakening little by little.  
** " **I have no idea what you're talking about. I find one friend, and you instantly try to ward him off?" Arthur looked calm but utterly furious at the same time. Francis opened his mouth but arthur put up a hand to stop him, "I know, I know you worry about me. But let me assure you that we are just friends." Arthur's voice was getting louder and louder, and more strained by the minute. A tight, almost angry, frown cracked across francis's face. "Oui, well, that's what you said about Alf-"  
Arthur shot up from his seat, his hand reaching quick across the table and grabbing the front of francis's shirt. "Don't bring that up." Arthur snarled, his eyes dark.**

" **Francis? Arthur? What's going on!?" Matthew hurried from the kitchen, tugging the two apart as he gave both of them worried glances. "Nothing, don't worry about it matthieu. I think I should take my leave now." Francis murmured, still watching arthur. Arthur let go of francis and took a step back as he brushed himself off. "Yes. That sounds good, I think you should leave too matthew. I appreciate your help." Arthur added calmly. Matthew looked hurt, but he smiled and nodded anyway. "Eh, of course! It was no problem arthur, I'll, uh, see you later." Matthew nodded his farewell and headed out. Francis stayed for a few minutes, then simply shook his head and clicked his tongue at arthur as he turned and made his way out. Arthur watched for a few minutes before he sat down, exhaling a breath of relief. He wasn't in love.**

 **At least, he that's what he told himself.**

 **A/N: Okay, so first, I wanna apologize for the half-assed chapter and second, I wanna apologize for the late update. Trying to make enough money for a ticket for NZ/UK so it might take awhile for me to update chapters from now on. Editing will come later on, so please excuse the sudden events and multiple split parts.**

 **Francis the drama-queen and Mattie just trying to break it up. Past USUK with a hint of one-sided FRUK? Read to find out! If you have any questions, PM me or comment below and I'll do a Q &A thing next chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

 **The week had passed by faster than usual, and now Arthur found himself standing at the doorstep of Alfred's house.**

 **His index finger hovered over the doorbell, not quite touching it yet. At any moment now, he could turn around and march back home, claiming to Alfred that he was sick or perhaps he had forgotten all about the party. But yet, there was a little part of him tugging him towards the party, almost as if he actually** _ **did**_ **want to go. And, well, he did know the reason for thaT**

 **There was a little voice in the back of his head, so soft that he could barely hear it, telling him that the only reason he had come was because of Ivan. Of course, to him, this meant nothing. They were just friends after all, no matter what anybody else thought. Especially Francis.  
He was still a bit upset about what francis had accused him of. Right after he had met somebody he could actually relate to, francis had come along and stomped all over arthur's new friendship, making false claims and warning him of things that would never happen.**

 **Arthur must've been quite lost in his thoughts, for before he had even rung the doorbell, the door swung open and Alfred stepped out of the house with a cheerful grin on his face.**

" **Arthur! You made it!"  
Much to arthur's surprise, alfred pulled him into a bone-crushing hug while arthur awkwardly patted him on the shoulder. "Yeah, wouldn't miss it for the world…" Arthur muttered sarcastically, but alfred pulled back with a stupidly happy grin still plastered to his face, either not noticing or ignoring the sarcasm dripping from arthur's words. "Great, I'm happy you came! Come on, almost everybody's here." Alfred grabbed arthur's arm and practically dragged him into the house, where they took a short hallway that promptly led into the living room.  
It was completely packed with different people, some who arthur recognized and some whose faces were new and unfamiliar. But they all seemed to know alfred, shooting smiles his way. "Er...Pardon, but, where are we going?" Artur called over the blaring music coming from several speakers place around the large room. Red plastic cups seemed to be everywhere, littering the ground and sitting on desks or chairs. "To the kitchen, you do want a drink, don't you?" Alfred called back. Without waiting for arthur's response, they found themselves in the kitchen, where the music was a bit quieter and it was a little less crowded.**

" **Here we are." Alfred gestured to a table lined with red cups filled with what smelled like liquor. Alfred grinned as he began to speak, "So, yeah, grab any drink. I suggest the-" Alfred was interrupted by the fast chattering of a blonde woman as she ran over and practically jumped onto alfred. "I need to show you something!" Was all arthur could make out before the unknown woman began to drag alfred away. Alfred grinned sheepishly and shrugged, waving arthur goodbye. Arthur forced a smile and weakly waved back, turning back to gaze at the neatly lined up cups. Arthur picked up a random one, biting back a disappointed sigh.**

 **It almost seemed like he always out of place in someway or another.**

" **Arthur? Is that you?"  
Arthur yelped and whipped around as he felt somebody clap him over his shoulders, a few drops of liquor splashed over the lip of his cup and splashed onto his shirt. He found himself craning his neck to peer up at ivan, who loomed over him with a surprisingly cheerful smile. "Oh, uh, yes! Hello ivan. Nice to see you." Arthur dipped his head politely as he brushed his shirt off and quickly fixed his hair, it was a habit of his. "Da, the same to you." Ivan smiled, which only made arthur mimic the smile. "I did not think it would be this crowded." He added. Arthur smiled and nodded his head, casually taking a sip from the cup. He heard ivan guffaw as the sour taste burning down his throat, his face scrunching up into a scowl. "Not good, that liquor is not good. Come, Natalia and Irunya have brought their own." Ivan took arthur's arm, gentle but firm as he led him away towards a small table where half of the Slavic countries had gathered.  
**" **Ivan!"**

 **Irunya smiled happily, and drunkenly, as she pulled him into a hug before turning her warm gaze to arthur. "Hi! Have you and Ivan become friends?" She asked, quite cheerfully. Arthur smiled back and nodded his head, "Er, yes. I believe so?" Arthur shot a look at ivan, as if waiting for approval. Ivan smiled and nodded his head. "Oh, yay!" Irunya abruptly pulled arthur into a hug, which was surprisingly almost as bone-crushing as alfred's.**

" **Nice to meet you. Nice to see that my** **брат** **has a new friend too."  
Arthur turned to register the cool voice, meeting the cold gaze of ivan's sister, Natalia, as she scanned him over with a frown. "Ah, yes. Pleasure to meet you too." Arthur smiled, shifting uncomfortable just a bit as she inspected him. Slowly, the woman's gaze trailed off to nowhere in particular as she lifted a cup filled with clear liquid up to her lips.**

" **Here you go!"  
Arthur turned around as irunya pushed a cup with the same clear liquid into his hand. "Vodka." She confirmed with a grin. "You had better catch up, me and ivan have already had, what? Seven shots perhaps?" She nudged ivan, who grinned along with her.**

" **I don't suppose that's a challenge?" Arthur smirked. "Perhaps, yes." Irunya giggled, her eyes lighting up. "Well then, cheers." Arthur held up his cup, clinking it together with Ivan and Irunya cups, with Natalia joining in with a sigh and an eyeroll.**

 **Arthur regretted drinking so much, or maybe he didn't. It was hard to tell.**

 **After at least 9 or 10 shots, irunya had grabbed arthur's arm and dragged him out into the living room, where the lights seemed to be brighter and the music louder. When he shot a glance over his shoulder, he spotted Ivan trailing after them with Natalia at his heels.  
** " **Ah! Stay here, I'll be right back!" Irunya yelled over the music, letting go of arthur and turning to shove through the crowd of bodies. In the blink of the eye, she had disappeared into the crowd, and he suddenly couldn't spot ivan or natalia behind him. So, he stood there in the swaying, dancing, mass of bodies. A few people came up to him, smiling and saying something inaudible over the music, but arthur just rolled his eyes and ignored them. Only did he take notice when he felt somebody touching his shoulder.**

 **He whipped around, scowling, only to meet alfred's curious blue gaze.**

" **Arthur? What's up?" He asked, raising his voice over the music, one hand still resting on arthur's shoulder. "I am just fine!" Arthur called, not quite answering alfred's question and not quite talking to anybody in particular either. Alfred raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You sure about that? Are you drunk?" Alfred tilted his head, his smirk turning into a grin. "No. I don't think so. Why would you accuse me of such a thing!" Arthur waved his hands angrily, nearly smacking alfred across the face. Alfred clasped one of arthur's hand, dragging him away to a quiet spot. "Chill out, I couldn't find you the whole night. Where were you?" Alfred murmured, scanning arthur's face. Arthur stared back dumbly as he thought about if for a moment. "Oh, well, after you got dragged away, Ivan came up and said hi, and then I went and got smash-" Arthur stopped when he realized alfred wasn't listening to him, instead pressing his face into arthur's shoulder, his breath warm on his neck. "Oi, what are you doing?" Arthur hissed, trying to squirm away. "Don't worry about it…" Alfred murmured, his voice husky. Arthur's face turned beet red as he tried again, unsuccessfully, to pull away. "Let's not, your drunk, I'm drunk, this is all a big mistake!" Arthur let out a high, nervous laugh as he felt alfred place a soft kiss just above his shoulder blade. "Get off!" Arthur hissed again, beginning to get fed up with alfred's attitude. "We broke up months and months ago, so you can't just come running back!" He snapped angrily as he pushed stubbornly on alfred's shoulder. "Why do you keep fighting? You were devastated when I left you, so why aren't you happy that I've taken an interest?"**

 **Arthur felt rage fill him at the smugness in alfred's voice. "What!? I'm the devastated one? Sure, I was once, but, surprise surprise, I've gotten over you!" Arthur spat. Alfred's gaze hardened and he dug his nails into arthur's wrist, keeping a tight grip. "Really? Is that really true?" The smug tone still lingered. "Duh! Obviously, you haven't! Now let me go!" Arthur spat.  
** " **Arthur?"  
Arthur glanced up, feeling a wave of relief crash over him as he saw ivan looming over them. Alfred's eyes narrowed and he tugged arthur forward, into the crook of his chest. "What do you want Russia?" Alfred growled, addressing him by his country name. Ivan frowned coldly, ignoring alfred and instead staring at arthur. "Are you okay?" He asked, oblivious to alfred. Arthur opened his mouth, but was quickly interrupted, "He's fine!" Alfred answered for him. "No." Arthur yanked his wrist away and stepped backwards until he was standing beside ivan, who seemed to step in front of him protectively. "Go away alfred. I don't want to see you anymore." Arthur's words were blunt and harsh, but it only made alfred scoff and roll his eyes as he stepped around the two. "Whatever. You're a liar arthur, everybody knows you're still hung up on me." Alfred puffed out his chest ****defiantly** **and stormed away, shoving through the crowd. Arthur stiffened at alfred's words as he felt ivan's curious gaze slide over him. "What's he mean?" He asked, quietly. With his face turning back to a beet red, he shuffled from foot to foot uncomfortably. "I don't know, I…" He fell quiet, just now realizing that there were tears stinging the corners of his eyes. "Were you two dating?" Ivan cocked his head, a curious, but not aggressive, frown on his face. "Yeah. Something like that…" Arthur muttered, looking down at his shoes. Everything seemed blurry, probably because tears were filling his eyes. He didn't exactly know why. Maybe he was embarrassed, or just scared that ivan would feel disgusted and leave him behind. Perhaps he would start rumors. It had happened before.**

" **Are...Are you two still dating?"**

 **Arthur sniffed and tried wiping his eyes with his sleeve, hoping that ivan hadn't noticed. "No. No, of course not." He muttered. "Ah." Ivan fell quiet, and the sound of music blaring filled the air again. "Are you disgusted?" Arthur finally spoke, his voice cracking lightly. Ivan stayed quiet for what seemed like a long while, before he gently rested a hand on arthur's shoulder, pulling him into a hug. He cleared his throat awkwardly, his chin just resting upon arthur's head. "No. Not at all, we are friends, aren't we?"**

 **Arthur looked up, his green eyes meeting ivan's violet ones. A light brush crept up his cheeks, ivan's face doing the same as he held his gaze.**

 **And then, before he could knock some sense into himself, his lips were pressed lightly against ivan's.**

 **He closed his eyes, feeling more heat rise to his face at the touch of ivan's soft and warm lips. He had made a mistake, a huge mistake. But yet, he felt ivan kissing him back.**

 **Of course, it was more awkward than anything. Arthur was practically on his tiptoes, and ivan had to crane his neck just a bit. Arthur opened his mouth just a bit, and ivan quickly deepened the kiss as he pressed him to the wall. Arthur was the first to pull back, his cheeks red and his breath shallow and quick. Ivan pulled back for a moment, a haze of lust covering his eyes. Arthur swallowed back a lump in his throat before he realized his legs were shaking ever so slightly. The whole world seemed to be tipping around him, and everything seemed distant and far away. He could hear a small, tinny, voice prodding in the back of his mind, repeating his name over and over.  
** " **Arthur? Arthur? Arthur are you okay?"**

 **Arthur smiled stupidly. He was perfectly fine, he thought to himself. Just as he fell forward, his vision going black.**

 **A/N: Drama, drama, and more drama. Plus some kissing** **( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)** **But...uh...yeah, it's not very good. Because I'm like super tired and also super excited about Germany legalizing gay marriage. It's 'bout time! So anyway, I hope you like this chapter even though it was super rushed. Thanks for reading!**

 _ **PS: Don't hate Alfie(Alfred) please ;-; He was really drunk, which doesn't justify his actions, but he'll be better in the next chapter. I promise!**_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

 **Arthur was sick of waking up with an aching hangover and a spinning head.**

 **He was also sick of waking up with half of his memories hazy and barely able to grasp, but this time, he wished that he could remember them. The party from last night was still fresh in his mind when he awoke to sunlight streaming in through his blinds. As soon as he remembered what had happened, he felt a wave of nausea crash over him, but a pinprick of relief managed to break through when he saw the familiar color of his bed sheets. At least he was in his own house, but his relief was again washed away when he realized who had probably dragged him home.**

 **Ivan.**

 **Arthur pressed a hand to his forehead, his breath catching in his throat as his heart began to beat at least ten times faster. He had made too many mistakes at the party, but the worst was drunkenly making out with ivan, and he could only pray that nobody had seen him. But that wasn't the only problem, there was also Alfred. But he wasn't even going to get started on that, it was Alfred's fault. Not his. If only he could have actually convinced himself of that. But right now, he needed a glass of water and something light to eat.**

 **Arthur had a tall glass of cold water and a piece of toast, but neither settled well in his stomach.**

 **He had checked his phone, in which he found several missed calls from Alfred. He deleted all of them. If alfred wanted to apologize, he could apologize to arthur's face. Nothing from Ivan however. He must have been disgusted. Arthur's stomach twisted as he chewed his lower lip. It would be only natural if ivan hated him. He had dragged arthur home** _ **twice**_ **now and he hadn't apologized and now he had made out with him before passing out and he still hadn't apologized.**

 **He had gotten sucked into drama, exactly what he was avoiding. He needed to apologize to ivan, and thank him, and then maybe they could forget the kissing and put it behind them.**

 **Arthur switched on his phone, exhaling a tense breath. His fingers scrolled through his contacts, landing on the one titled with ivan's name on it, the one ivan had given him a few days back. Arthur cleared his throat and took another sip of water before turning his attention back to the number, his finger hovering over the call button.**

 _ **Ding-dong**_

 **Arthur's hands froze as he heard his doorbell going off, and he quickly switched off his phone and laid it face down onto the table before he could change his mind. Secretly, he was definitely hoping somebody would interrupt him. He felt bad apologizing to ivan over a call, but he was sure he was in Moscow by now. Shooing his thoughts away, arthur made way to the door, opening the door for his unknown vistorer.**

 **Alfred.**

 **Arthur's hands shook from the force he held trying not to slam the door right there, but he managed an angry and shaky smile as he crossed his arms tightly over his chest. "Alfred." He greeted coldly, giving a small nod of his head. "Shouldn't you be home by now?" Arthur asked, his gaze scanning the younger man with hostility. Alfred looked nervous, his hands clasped together in front of him and a small smile tugging at his lips as he eyes nervously avoided arthur's.**

" **Yeah. I guess I should be, huh? Well, no, uh, that's not what I'm here about." Alfred shuffled awkwardly, peering just past arthur's shoulder. "Can I come in?" He asked, his voice growing quieter. "No, I-" Arthur frowned and glanced away, sighing heavily. "Yeah. Sure. Come on." Arthur turned away sharply, leading alfred into the house straight to the kitchen, pausing to make sure he heard the door close. "Do you want tea? A scone?" Arthur put the kettle on without waiting for an answer, seeing alfred smiling politely and give a small nod of his head from the corner of his eyes. "What did you want to speak about?" Arthur questioned, breaking the silence. Alfred cleared his throat, taking a few minutes to think something up.**

" **I want to apologize."**

" **Oh?"**

 **Arthur poured the boiling hot water into the two cups, his gaze staying fixated on the steam clouding from the cups.**

" **Yeah. I'm sorry. I really am. I don't know wha-Arthur, please come sit down. I won't do anything, I swear."**

 **Arthur stayed silent, bring the tea over and putting one down in front of alfred before quickly moving to the seat across from him. "Go ahead. I won't interrupt." Arthur waved his hand for alfred to continue, still warily watching him.**

" **What happened last night, I'm so sorry. I don't know what the fuck I was thinking, and that's not an excuse. I was drinking too much and I was really being a fucking idiot," Alfred stopped, waiting as arthur opened his mouth. "Yeah, yeah you were a fucking idiot. I am over you, okay? And I know you might want to deny it, but I am. Okay?" Arthur snapped. He hadn't realized his hands were clenched into fists and he quickly released the tension, lying them flat across the smooth wooden surface of the table. Alfred chewed his lower lip, his blue eyes looked tired and sad. "I know. I do. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, and I didn't mean it. It was drunken rambling, and I'm sorry." Alfred's eyes were shimmering as he forced a smile, first at arthur, then down at his heads. "Please forgive me, and it's okay if you don't…" He murmured. Arthur stood up abruptly from his chair, practically marching over to alfred's chair, his arms still crossed across his chest. After a few minutes of silence, and alfred watching him with a puzzled look, arthur held open his arms, giving a small but comforting smile. Alfred smiled back, standing up and quickly pulling arthur into a hug. His signature hug, a bone-crushing one. Arthur smiled and patted alfred on the back, feeling relief flood through him.**

 **One down. One to go.**

 **A/N: I just cringed at my own writing.**

 **I'm really sorry for not posting in sooo long, I have relatives visiting, rescuing cats/birds, blah, blah. I also just realized that all my writing is really disorganized and I wanna apologize to whoever reads this story because I realize it might be quite confusing and I will definitely be editing soon. And I just wanna say that I really, really, appreciate all your feedback and reviews. I don't reply because my computer doesn't let me(?) but I really do appreciate all of it 3**

 **Also, I'd love to talk to you guys! It can be about suggestions for the story, or just general conversations, I'm just feeling bored and half of my irl friends are on vacay. Just message me here on or PM me for my Skype. I won't bite!  
Thanks for sticking with me c:**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Arthur slid a hand through his hair, sighing. His green eyes traveled briefly to where Alfred lay on his couch with one arm slung over his face as he snored lightly. Originally, Alfred had stayed a bit longer to watch some TV before he promptly passed out on Arthur's couch. Arthur decided not to wake him, because there was really no reason to. But Arthur did need to go shopping, as he was running dangerously low on butter and bread, which meant no toast, which meant no breakfast.

Arthur quickly scribbled a note down onto a sticky note, sticking it to Alfred's head, who rolled to his side and mumbled something in his sleep. He grabbed his coat, slipping it on before quietly leaving the house.

The weather was a tad too 'cold' for Summer and the sky was an unpleasant gray, but it wasn't raining which was quite spectacular.

Arthur took the car, he wasn't taking chances of it _not_ raining in London.

It was pleasantly quiet in the grocer, and Arthur had bought more then he should have. Bread, butter, beans, and eggs, which was enough for breakfast for a few weeks. He went through a few more aisles, not really wanting anything but still not ready to leave. Pretty soon he found himself in the alcohol aisle and he soon found himself staring down a bottle of wine. After a moment of thought, Arthur grabbed it.

"Arthur?"  
Arthur jumped a bit, quickly shoving back the bottle of wine into the shelf before he whipped around with an awkward smile on his face. "Ah, yes, hel-" Arthur froze his grip tightening around his grocery basket as he felt his whole body tense up.  
"Hi."

Ivan stood at the end of the aisle, a bag of bread tucked under his arm. His hair was slightly disheveled, covering most of his face except for that uptight frown that tugged at his lips. He was wearing dark jeans and a big coat, as always. He shuffled from foot to foot awkwardly as Arthur stood frozen and stared at him with wide eyes. "Hmm…" Arthur let out a choked sound, an awkwardly big smile still plastered to his face. "Hello. Er, um, what are you doing here? In London I mean? I mean, uh, it's not any of my business, just kind of curiou-" Arthur stopped his blabbering short, watching as Ivan shrugged his shoulders. "My flight back to Moscow was cancelled. I decided to stay for a little longer, a vacation." A small smile creeped across Ivan's face, but his eyes still showed caution. "I see, that's great. Um, are you enjoying your stay?" Arthur asked innocently. "Дa, I am. Listen, Arthur, do you want to go grab coffee, perhaps?" Ivan tilted his head, as he always seemed to do when he was questioning somebody. Arthur felt suddenly uncomfortable, but he knew he couldn't turn down Ivan's offer. "Yeah. Sure. I, uh, I gotta pay for this stuff first." Arthur mumbled. Ivan nodded his head, smiling a bit more clearly now. "Mhm. I gotta pay too. So, are you buying the wine, if not, then pass me a bottle."

Arthur stared down at his small cup of coffee, not very interested in drinking it. Ivan sipped his coffee from across the table, staying silent as he watched Arthur from the corner of his eye.

"So."

Arthur looked up from his cup, a worried frown tugging down his lips. "Mm?"

"I-Did you want to talk about what happened?"

"No. Not really."

Arthur clutched the handle of his cup, suddenly even less interested in the coffee in front of him. Ivan cleared his throat as he put down his coffee, forcing Arthur to look up. "I'm sorry." Ivan blurted. "No, no, I should be the one apologizing. I was drunk as hell, and, and it was a mistake." Arthur replied, his voice quiet.

"A mistake?"

Arthur couldn't tell if there was disappointment lingering in Ivan's tone, but he didn't want to know, because if there was, then it would only hurt him. "Yeah...But thanks, for telling Alfred off." Arthur added quickly. This time as he looked up, he actually focused on Ivan's face.

He had a lopsided smile on his face, and his violet eyes looked almost mournful. "You're welcome. You know, I have to get going. I want to see some of the landmarks here before I head home. I'll see you later Arthur, it was nice to see you again." Ivan stood up abruptly, brushing off his coat and nudging his half-filled coffee cup away. "Yes, it was good to see you. I'll see you soon then." Arthur forced a smile, but Ivan just gave a small wave of his hand as he quickly made his way towards the exit.

Arthur couldn't help but feel he had did something wrong, but he wasn't sure what.

 **A/N: Yep, another half-assed chapter. I apologize to whoever reads this, but I swear to god my whole family is visiting, which means tons and tons of cleaning or there's lots of complaining. Plus, I'm sick and my tía is coming to visit tomorrow. Yep, I have the best luck :) Have a nice day/night everybody!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

It was raining by the time Ivan reached his hotel.

The skies were gray and thunder rumbled overhead, but it wasn't much of a surprise. He had always heard about how rainy it always was in England, but the first few days he had been then there had been sunny and warm. He had enjoyed them while they had lasted.

He pushed the door to his room open, heart heavy as he hung his coat amongst the other coats hanging off the rack nailed to the wall. The room was occupied by him and Natalya, as she had insisted on staying back with him. She lay sprawled across the bed, scrolling through a book, only glancing up when she heard the door creak open.  
"Вітаю Brother."

She smiled and brushed her silver hair over her shoulders as she sat up, gently laying her book down. Ivan watched her cautiously, still hovering near the door.  
"What's the matter?"

Natalya frowned, sliding her feet off the bed as she peered at Ivan with a concerned expression. Ivan forced a faint smile and went to sit beside her, keeping his distance. "Nothing. Just a bad day I suppose." He replied. Natalya's frown only extended and she shook her head, muttering something underneath her breath. "That's a lie. There's obviously something wrong with you. Did somebody hurt you?"

Ivan quickly shook his head, noticing her clenched fist. " _No._ I told you, I'm just having a bad day…" He lied. Natalya smiled lightly and laid a hand on Ivan's shoulder. "Well...Then I'm sure it will get better. Have you seen England around? You two seem to be on good terms." She added cheerfully.

Ivan groaned. He didn't want to talk anymore about Arthur.

* * *

Arthur felt guilty, and he wasn't exactly sure why.

His own home felt unwelcoming and he would've prefered to stay out in the rain. However, after standing just outside on his porch, Alfred had poked his head out the door and called him in. With much hesitancy, Arthur slowly followed into the house, pulling of his soaking wet shoes.

"Man, I have no idea what you're doing out there, it's pouring out there."

A white, fluffy, towel landed on Arthur's head as Alfred watched him dry off his hair.  
"Where were you anyway?"

Without answering the question asked, Arthur passed the now soggy towel back to Alfred. Obviously, Alfred wasn't going to take silence for an answer. Without arguing, Alfred stared Arthur down until the British man felt uncomfortable enough to speak. "Out, shopping." Arthur nodded towards the bag in his hands, now setting it down upon the floor. "Well what's your problem then? You look miserable." Alfred added. Arthur shook his head, not particularly wanting to talk about the extremely awkward meeting with Ivan. "I, uh, I saw Ivan." Arthur mumbled, watching Alfred's eyes narrow.  
"Russia? Why's he still here?"

Arthur shrugged, nervously picking at his nails. "I dunno…He said his flight back home was canceled, so he decided to stay a week. We talked a little bit." Arthur explained. "About what?" Alfred tilted his head, frowning with a strangely worried glint in his eye. "Just a bit of the party, and such…"

At his answer, Alfred's expression only tightened, and Arthur could see his fists clenched at his sides.

"I really am sorry. About the whole situation." Alfred sheepishly scratched the back of his head, glancing down at his shoes so he didn't have to look directly at Arthur.

"Oh no! I mean, yeah, it was...unfortunate, but me and Ivan were speaking of something...else." Arthur didn't specify the kissing part, and he doubted he or Ivan ever would. Alfred didn't ask any questions, simply looked relieved and let his body loosen up. "I see, well, I hope you guys had a...fun, time? Do you wanna eat something? I'm kinda hungry, and I can whip something before I leave. Unless, you want me to leave now." Alfred's sentence was slightly rushed, and he stumbled over a few words as he spoke. Arthur gave way to a small smile and nodded his head, "Of course you can stay. I got some bread, and eggs, so we can have toast and scrambled eggs." Arthur offered. Alfred grinned and nodded in agreement, picking up the grocery bag from the floor. "Yeah, that sounds good! Just, let me cook this time, okay?"

Arthur rolled his eyes and pushed aside Alfred as he strolled into the kitchen. "I hope that wasn't meant to be offensive!" Arthur called back. He heard Alfred laugh from behind him, a pleasant sound after such a tense conversation.

* * *

"I was just thinking...We could visit that candy shop that Irunya swung by before she left. It sells all kinds of stuff."

Ivan wasn't very interested in wandering the streets of England at the moment, actually more interested in flipping through random channels on the hotel TV. So far, he had found a Spanish soap opera without subtitles, a detective show, and a cooking show that bored him quite a lot. After taking a nap, Natalya was already planning out a new adventure for them. Ivan was exhausted, his eyelids weighing him down. He wanted nothing more than to sleep, but Natalya wouldn't have any of it. She tugged on her coat, frowning at herself in the mirror before she hauled Ivan up by his arm.

"I'm sick of you sulking, and obviously you're not going to tell me why, but since we're here, I want to explore! With you, brother." Natalya smiled brightly up at Ivan, and he managed to force a weak, lopsided, smile back at her. "Of course...Sister, let's go now and get it over with." Ivan heard Natalya scoff, but she was satisfied enough with his answer. "Good, cheer up, and let's go explore London!"

* * *

 **A/N: I'm so, so, sorry for the late chapter ;-; I had no inspiration(as always) and school is always a bit of trouble. I love all of my followers and thanks for sticking with me! Anyway, I updated Chapter 1-7(?), and editing them was painful. Let's just say that I cringed. Several million times. But they're all good now! And I'm hoping to edit more this weekend/week.**

 **I made a bunch of accounts, Pinterest, Wattpad, where I might occasionally post random crap, so feel free to check those out; Accounts are linked on my profile.**

 **If you guys have any suggestions for edits or new stories, go ahead and tell me. Thanks, and have a great day/night!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

"We should go out to eat, I'm starved."

Alfred set down the remote on the couch, glancing at Arthur, who 'tsked' quietly and flipped the page of his book.

"You ate an hour ago." Arthur muttered, not quite focusing on Alfred's senseless whining. "It was toast and jam, and the toast was burnt! You need to fix your toaster!" Alfred added. Arthur rolled his eyes with a sigh and slowly shut his book, taking off his reading glasses and putting them on the stand next to the couch. "Fine, if you'll shut up and leave my house after we get something to eat, then yes, we can go." Arthur said. Alfred grinned and nodded his head, standing up to grab his umbrella that hung from the coat rack. "Thanks man! Let's go to Wendy's!" He decided. Once again, Arthur rolled his eyes, but he grabbed his coat and his umbrella and quickly pursued after Alfred.

* * *

"Are you having fun brother?"

The question came from thin air as Natalia snapped another photo of Big Ben, turning to snap a photo of Ivan along with it as he held an ice cream that was just beginning to melt.

"Of course."

Ivan forced a smile as Natalia took the ice cream from his hand, taking a bite. "Mm. You don't seem like it. Do you not like ice cream? What would you like to do?" She questioned.

Ivan didn't usually enjoy hanging around his sister since she always seemed to be too...clingy. But this time she seemed to be genuinely concerned, and for once, he felt bad.

"It is fine. I'm just tired, that's all. What about we go take some more pictures of the city? Perhaps we'll find that candy shop Irunya was talking about."

At this, Natalia's eyes lit up and she grabbed Ivan's arm to quickly make their way down the street. "Great idea! It's like a, uh, erm, an adventure!" She said excitedly, stumbling over the last few words. Ivan smiled a bit more, this time it was real.

* * *

Alfred held a burger in one hand, and a soda in the other. Arthur remained carrying the rest of the food with an umbrella squeezed in to shelter him from the rain that had begun to steadily drizzle down. "I don't why we couldn't have just stopped and eaten there!" Arthur snapped irritably. Alfred shrugged, looking up at buildings as they walked and occasionally stopping to peer into shop windows.

"Huh, London isn't as boring as I thought it'd be. You should come to New York city some time, it's like this, but ten times cooler. And it's American." Alfred explained absently as he stared at jewelry displayed in a shop window. "I bet it is…" Arthur doubted Alfred had noticed the sarcasm in his voice, in fact, he doubted that Alfred had heard any words that had come out of his mouth at all. Alfred's face had completely lit up and he shoved his food and drink into Arthur's hands while blabbering, 'Ihavetogoseethisit'ssocool!Ididn'tknowLondonwasthiscoolI'llberightbackmeetmethere!'

With that completely mashed sentence, Alfred dashed down the street, disappearing among the midday crowd. Arthur struggled to carry all items at once as he pushed through the crowd after Alfred, mumbling discreet apologies and 'excuse me', 'pardon me's.

"Alfred! You bloody idiot! Wait!"

Arthur desperately tried waving his arms, hoping that Alfred would notice and come back, but he had no such luck. He rounded the corner that Alfred had turned, glancing around in hopes to spot that wheat-blonde head of hair.

 _Bang!_

Arthur leapt a few inches into the air, an unmanly squeak escaping his mouth. He heard muffled laughter and whipped around to see Alfred inside a store, pointing at Arthur while laughing. Arthur opened his mouth to say something, shook his head, flipped Alfred off, and headed into the store. "What the bloody hell were you thinking!? You could've gotten seriously lost, do you know how big London is?" Arthur hissed angrily, jabbing a finger into Alfred's chest. He tried keeping his voice low, as he didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention. "Chill out! Look around you, you don't even know where you are!" Alfred whispered back, spreading his arms open. Arthur glanced around, the first things he noticed was the bubblegum pink of the walls and the black and white checkered floor. The place had rows and rows of see through plastic containers filled to the brim with different types of candy. "You brought me to a...tacky candy store?" Arthur tilted his head, frowning. "Yeah! I didn't know you guys still had these old-fashioned things!" Alfred exclaimed. "Hm...I don't know. I think it's the first I've seen in London…" Arthur murmured. "Whatever man, I'm going to go buy some stuff!" Alfred clapped Arthur's shoulder and turned away, quickly walking away.

Arthur smiled faintly, shaking his head. He glanced around the store curiously, his eyes searching the store. There were a few people dotted here and there, wandering around. It was mostly quiet, except for two children who ran around squealing and giggling.

And then his gaze fell upon a man and a woman huddled together, their arms linked.

Natalia and Ivan.

Ivan actually looked happy, a smile was on his face as he and Natalia spoke quietly in what sounded like Russian. Natalia's face was too close to his, and her eyes were absolutely sparkling. Obviously, they had felt somebody staring, as Natalia lifted her head to glance around. Arthur ducked behind a large rack, his heart thumping inside his chest.

"Arthur? Dude, are you okay?"

Alfred walked up with two bags full of candy, one which he handed to Arthur. Arthur pressed a finger to his lips and nodded urgently, grabbing Alfred and dragging him to the register. "Whoa, what's your problem?" Alfred inquired. Arthur just shook his head numbly, not particularly wanting to speak. Alfred fell quiet, realizing that Arthur wouldn't share. He paid for both bags, watching Arthur with growing curiosity as the older man ducked behind Alfred and anything else that would shelter him.

By the time they left, Alfred's curiosity was about to burst, and Arthur was still on edge until they made it out of the store and down the street a few blocks away.

Arthur was happy to see that Ivan was so happy, yet his stomach still twisted with annoyance with he had seen Ivan and Natalia so close together. It was only natural since they knew each other so well, so why couldn't Arthur get rid of that awful feeling in his chest?

 **A/N: Please do not kill me, I wrote this chapter super late and while really tired. But I got a good idea and needed to write it down before I forgot it, so, I'll do editing tomorrow.**

 **Anyway, real quick, shameless advertising: I just posted a story on Wattpad! If you didn't know my user before, it's AWeirdMIX. The story is LGBT, BxB(Boy x Boy), and kind of just an experiment(idk?) at the moment. But yeah, go check it out and tell me if you like it!:** **460674746-confused-bxb-chapter-one**

 **Thanks, and have a good day/night :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Arthur's life had gone back to being dull.

It had never been quite bright and bubbly either way, but it had been nice to have somebody he could rely in. There was Francis, Alfred, Matthew, and the rest of his " _family"._ But there was always something wrong with his relations, and although his relationship with Ivan hadn't been perfect, it had at least been peaceful. For a while.

Now Ivan wouldn't speak to him, nor would he even look at him. It was probably for the best, after all, Arthur didn't want or need any drama.

"Hey, Arthur, are you taking notes?"

Alfred leaned over, snapping Arthur from his thoughts as the younger man peered over his shoulder. "I honestly have no idea what Japan was saying because he talks too fast, so I need to write down your notes." He whispered. Arthur scoffed under his breath but slid his notes over anyway, getting a silent nod of appreciation from Alfred.

He watched Alfred quickly scribble down what he had written before boredly averting his gaze, not surprised to find himself curiously watching Ivan from across the table.

The Russian man's eyes didn't meet Arthur's, instead, he had his head turned to the side to speak with Natalia, smiling as if he hadn't had a care in the world.

* * *

Arthur took off as soon as Ludwig announced the break, quickly tailing it after Ivan.  
"Ivan!"

A nervous smile peeked at his lips as he managed to catch up, his arm reaching out to catch Ivan's arm. Disappointment filled him as he felt Ivan quickly tug his arm away, turning around with a surprised look on his face.

"Arthur? Hello, is there something you need?" He sounded almost bored, his stone-cold expression carefully guarded. "No, well, yes. Kind of. More of a question actually, I was wondering if you wanted to come get coffee with me." Arthur explained. Ivan's guarded expression gave way and was replaced with a nervous and slightly anxious frown as his eyes darted around as to not meet Arthur's eyes.

"Sorry...I'm a bit busy. Natalya and me we're going to go...go get lunch!"

Arthur knew it was an excuse, it was plainly obvious as Ivan fumbled over his words. "Ah...I see. Maybe later then?" His hopefulness faltered as he watched Ivan mumble something and hesitantly nod his head. "Yes, maybe later." He turned his back, faltering for only a minute before he quickly walked away. A frown that he had been holding in crossed Arthur's face as he let out a heavy sigh and turned around, walking back to the break room, where he knew Francis and Alfred would be waiting.

"Hey Artie, where were you?"

Alfred smiled brightly as Arthur walked into the room, standing up to give him some sort of complicated handshake. "You look kind of sad. Like...a droopy sad expression, you know?" Alfred still had a smile plastered on his face, but it showed a hint of concern.

"Drama, much drama, oui Arthur? A bit surprising, you don't seem to be the drama type." Francis looked up from a news article that he had been scrolling through on his phone, smirking. "No drama...I'm just focusing on work," Arthur mumbled, trying not to focus too closely on what Francis was saying.

"No drama? Last I saw, you were Russia's lapdog! News gets around fast, especially with me."

Arthur felt his hands clench into fists at his sides at Francis's words, but he was still trying to block out the words. Francis sneered at him, which was slightly unusual for Francis to be doing. Sure, the Frenchman loved to gossip, but he seemed angrier this time and Arthur wasn't sure what about.

"Whoa, Francis, those are some big assumptions." Alfred quickly butted in, noticing the thick tension lingering in the air. Francis barely gave a second thought about Alfred's words, his gaze not moving from Arthur's tense expression. "I'm afraid this doesn't involve you, Alfred." He snapped coldly. Alfred's eyes arched upwards in surprise and he opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Arthur, "So how is this your business either Francis?" He retorted. Francis scoffed, slapping down his phone as he stood up from the table. "This is no way about me wanting drama, but about the rest of us too. So are you giving into Russia or not? I didn't think it would be you...but I suppose I shouldn't judge, should I? After all, you can never tell. Your country isn't doing too well, is it?"

Something inside Arthur snapped. He was sick of being used as an excuse to fuel Francis's petty lies, and he was sick of not being able to be friendly with someone without there being made lies and assumptions on _why_ he was being friendly.

"Francis, I do not know what your bloody problem is, but if you don't shut that stupid little mouth of yours, I will not hesitate to damage your ' _pretty'_ face." The words were spat like venom to Francis's face as Arthur stood only inches away. A shit-eating smirk remained on Francis's face, only two words escaping his lips.

"Try me."

 **A/N: Sorry for the late chapter everybody, I've been working on separate stories and I'm really, super, tired. The hurricane hit where I lived, but not too bad, just enough to let me skip three days of school(thank the lord). Make sure you give your prayers and donations to everybody in Florida, and please don't forget the earthquake in M** **é** **xico.**

 **So I added much drama because that's the person I am, I hope you enjoy this shitty chapter and I will try my best to post a longer one tomorrow. Please forgive me ;-; Please review/fav/follow and have a great day/night!**

 **Ps: The British are not afraid to fight** **(** **ง** **'̀-'́)** **ง**


	13. Update (PLEASE READ)

**Update:**

I've been gone for sooo long, like, literally a year. I don't know if anybody is still actually reading this story, but if you are, please read the below message!

Like I've said, I've been gone for a year because I've been trying to catch up on work and other story ideas. To be completely honest, I've kind of grown out of the Hetalia fandom and the anime fandom in general. However, I love all my followers very much! You guys are awesome, and you totally boosted my happiness. If you want me to continue you this story, then I will, just comment below or message me with your opinion 3

I'm also starting to write fanfiction for other fandoms if anybody's interested! Fellow musical nerds, I'm currently working on a Hamilton fanfiction along with a Be More Chill fanfiction that have not been posted yet.

I'll probably be more active on my Wattpad account, so if I'm ever inactive here, then just go to my Wattpad account to see more updates: user/caeriley


	14. New update (PLEASE READ)

Yet another update for this story!

I have no idea if anybody even reads this anymore but I kind of want to start this story back up because I know there isn't a lot of Ruseng content out there and I also need something to work on over the summer. If you guys want more, let me know maybe? I just need some feedback on whenever I should start this back up.

The old chapters are poorly written but I don't have time to go back and rewrite them, but the new chapters will be waaaay better, so don't worry.

Again, please comment or send me a message if you want me to start writing again. Thanks! 3


	15. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Whoa, guys, please just calm down. Everybody's looking at us!"  
Before he could even get a punch in, Arthur felt himself being tugged away as Alfred urgently whispered a quick warning to both him and Francis. Francis's arms remained crossed over his chest, a smug smirk plastered to his face.

"Merci, Alfred. I can't believe that Arthur is losing his temper over such a silly thing." Francis murmured dramatically, his eyes narrowed at Arthur. Arthur scowled and took a step forward, once again being pulled back by Alfred.

"A silly thing? I'm not going to let you start spreading rumours about me!" Arthur spat. Francis's smirk grew even more, "Rumours? But mon ami, they are true, are they not?" He said with that horribly condescending tone that Arthur absolutely despised. Gritting his teeth, Arthur replied coldly, "They are not."  
Alfred awkwardly cleared his throat, "Guys, please? You're fighting over a silly thing. Say, what about I get us all some refreshments. Cokes? Yeah?" Alfred quickly interjected, trying to change the subject. Arthur took a deep breath, turning his gaze away from Francis so he wouldn't have to see that shit-eating grin.

"Alfred's right, there's no point in fighting. I shouldn't be getting involved in drama, especially when it's something like a couple idiotic assumptions." Arthur muttered, shooting a cold glare at Francis as he spoke. Francis's smirk disappeared, but he gave up arguing and gave a simple nod of agreement. Alfred let out a sigh of relief and went off to fetch their drinks, leaving Arthur and Francis to cautiously watch each other in utter silence. After a minute of silence, Arthur felt eyes burning into the side of his head. He whipped around to face Francis, growing angry as Francis's horrible smirk returned to his face.

"What the bloody hell are you staring at?"

"Well is it true then?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."  
"Angleterre, you're a horrible liar." Francis chuckled.

"Still no idea." Arthur retorted.

"About Russia, or would you rather I call him Iva-"  
"Here you guys go!" Alfred interrupted Francis mid-sentencing, appearing behind Arthur and offering Francis a Coke before he gave one to Arthur. Francis raised an eyebrow at Arthur but he didn't bother to finish his sentence, instead opening his soda can and taking a sip. Arthur couldn't help but snicker as he watched Francis's face scrunch up in disgust, quickly setting his soda can down with a pained smile.

"What's wrong?" Alfred asked.

"Mm. Nothing, just not as thirsty as I thought I was." Francis lied.

Alfred shrugged and chugged down half his can, pausing to ramble on about Ludwig constantly lecturing him. As Alfred blabbered, Arthur gave Francis one last look of warning.

* * *

After the meeting had ended, Arthur retired back to his house in the warm comfort of his bed.

He was exhausted after arguing with Francis for most of the day and it didn't help that he felt miserable about Ivan avoiding him. Tomorrow was his last day to talk to Ivan and he wasn't going to let it go to waste. After lying face down in bed for a while, Arthur groaned and slowly pulled himself up, grabbing his phone from his bedside desk and scrolling through his contacts until he found Ivan's name. With hesitation, he sent a short text before he put his phone face down.

 _ **Russia, can we speak tomorrow?**_

He took a deep breath, trying not to panic. What if it was too formal? Or too informal? Should he have used Ivan instead or Russia?  
Either way, he didn't have time to ponder over a simple text message. The meeting was in Germany tomorrow and he had to start packing his suitcase if he wanted to leave early tomorrow. His determination had kicked in and his goal was set, tomorrow he was going to talk to Ivan no matter how hard it took.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I'm back! Hey guys, sorry I left y'all like that. I really appreciate all the kindness I'm getting from you guys 3 I'm starting this story back up because I somehow got dragged back into the Hetalia fandom and also it's just sooo much easier to write fanfic. I also looked back at all my old chapters and I hate how the font was and just how I wrote them but I don't have time to go back and change it all so I'm just gonna have to keep them and write better chapters. Also, I know the updates make the chapters more confusing and I'm really sorry about that, if you're confused, please ask me and I will explain! I know this chapter is kind of boring but the next chapter will be way more exciting! Stay tuned.**_


	16. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

The sun was just beginning to rise when the plane Arthur was on landed in Berlin. Fluffy white clouds crept across the orange, slowly growing blue, sky as Arthur stepped out of the plane. He stifled a yawn as he sleepily made his way into the airport, joining the crowd of people looking for their luggage. After quickly grabbing his suitcase from the baggage carousel, Arthur took a seat near the windows and checked his phone. A newly sent message from Alfred had popped up.

 _ **Alfred: Hey! Are you at the airport? I don't see you.**_

Arthur let out a quiet sigh as he typed out a response. He was quite a bit early and he hadn't actually expected that Alfred would wait for him. The only reason that Arthur had arrived early was that he was hoping Ivan would also be earlier, that would give them plenty of time to talk. If Alfred was there with him, Arthur doubted that Ivan would be even more unwilling to even come close. Still, he knew it would be cruel to just leave Alfred by himself in the airport, no matter how tempting it was.

 _ **Arthur: I'm by the windows, section C-9.**_

He sent back. A few minutes later, he heard his name being faintly called. He looked up, watching as Alfred strode over with an excited grin. For once, he didn't look like he had literally just rolled out of bed. He was wearing a clean, navy blue suit with a dark red tie and his hair was gelled back, all for Nantucket.

"Good morning!" He greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning Alfred, you look nice. For once." Arthur replied. At this, a nervous smile spread across Alfred's face and he instinctively straightened his tie.

"Thanks." He mumbled. Arthur barely heard him as he stood up, stretching his arms out above his head as he let out another soft yawn.

"So, should we catch a cab then?" He asked. Alfred seemed to snap out of his awkward trance and he instantly bounced back.

"Why not an uber? I bet it's cheaper.  
Alfred suggested. Arthur raised an eyebrow, assuming that Alfred was playing one of his stupid jokes.

"Yeah right."

"What? It's true!"  
"Are you serious? Uber is banned Alfred."  
Alfred looked surprised, "Isn't Uber German though?" He asked. Arthur sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead.

"The word Uber is German, Uber itself is not German." Arthur explained slowly. A look of realization crossed Alfred's face.

"Oh, really? Huh. Weird, but whatever, let's go catch a taxi then!" Alfred replied, still cheerful.  
"Cab."  
"Huh?"  
"Cab, not taxi."

"Mmmm, okay. Whatever makes you happy."

* * *

As Alfred and Arthur entered the building where the meeting was being held, Ludwig greeted them with a tired smile and a small wave of his hand.

"Guten morgen, England, America. You two are here early." He greeted.

"Yeah! Me and Arthur carpooled, in a taxi!" Alfred replied. Ludwig raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, just nodded his head and left them to be on their way. In the conference room, Feliks and Toris were laughing over a shared joke and Kiku was sitting alone, shuffling his papers. Arthur barely threw a second look their way, most of his focus on Ivan, who sat quietly away from everybody else.

"I'm going to go speak to someone real quick, I'll be back soon." Arthur told Alfred, not waiting for a response as he made his way over to Ivan. Alfred watched him leave, a worried frown on his face. Arthur reached Ivan, an awkwardly friendly smile on his face.

"Good morning."

Ivan's gaze was concentrated on the table, as if he were trying to burn a hole through it with his eyes. He barely showed any sign of hearing Arthur.

"Good morning England, how are you doing?" He finally replied after a minute of tense silence. Still, he didn't bother to look at Arthur and his voice remained completely monotone.

"Good, but that's not really what I wanted to talk about. Can we talk somewhere more...Private?" Arthur's tone was beginning to sound more annoyed and tense. Ivan's cold expression changed quickly after Arthur had spoke, an anxious look crossing his face.

"Why?"  
"Seriously? You're seriously asking me _why?_ You know why!" Arthur snapped, lowering his voice so that he wouldn't draw attention. Ivan brought up a hand to rub at his temples before he signed and stood up from his chair.

"Okay. Just for a minute, da? The meeting will start soon." He agreed. Arthur nodded his head and lead the way out of the room, noticing Alfred flashing him a panicked frown from where he sat beside Kiku.

"So?" Ivan asked as soon as they had stepped out of the room. Arthur couldn't help but feel annoyed at how exasperated Ivan was acting. This wasn't how it played out in his head after all, he had been hoping that Ivan would've also wanted to talk.

"I should be asking you! Why have you been avoiding me? Are you pissed at me or what?" Arthur questioned, trying to keep his voice from raising. Ivan let out a soft sigh and turned his head slightly so that he wasn't staring directly at Arthur, "If you have something to say, then just _tell_ me instead of this absolutely daft silent act you're putting up!"

Ivan's frown was beginning to turn more annoyed than cold, but still he stayed silent.

"So that's it? You're not even going to _try_ and be mature about this? Just tell me what's wrong!" The last part of Arthur's sentence rose to a shout and he instantly regretted it. Although he couldn't see Ivan's expression, he noticed the way his fists were clenched at his side.

"I don't get why you're so insistent on this, aren't you the one who wants to move past _that_?" Ivan replied tensely.

"What?"

"That situation!"

"What situation?"  
"The one where we _kissed_." Ivan said through gritted teeth, painfully drawing out each word. Arthur felt his face turn red as he tried to think of something to say.

"Yes...Well, I suppose that's mostly what I wanted to talk about." He mumbled.

"Why? Why do we need to talk about it? You said to just forget it, remember?" Ivan's tone was bitter and sounded almost hurt. Arthur bit his lip and looked down at his shoes, feeling himself grow more and more flustered.

"I remember...Is that why you've been avoiding me then?" Arthur asked quietly.  
"Yes." Ivan replied bluntly.

"Well if I said to forget it, to move past it, then why are you still worried about it?" Arthur questioned. There was a short stretch of silence in which Arthur quickly looked over his shoulder and into the conference room, just to make sure the meeting hadn't started and that nobody was listening in on their conversation. His attention was drawn back to Ivan as he heard a quiet reply.

"Because, maybe I don't want to forget about it."  
Arthur's heart jumped in his throat and he focused on Ivan's face, just now noticing how flushed his cheeks were.

"I...I don't know what you mean."

"Of course you don't. We should probably head back, I think the meeting's going to start soon." He dismissed quickly, already beginning to stride back into the room.

"Wait! Can we talk about this more, after the conference?" Arthur grabbed onto Ivan's arm, feeling his heart beat wildly in his chest. Ivan stayed quiet, obviously trying to think of an acceptable answer.

"I suppose we could."

Arthur smiled in relief and opened his mouth to say something else, but Ivan pulled his arm away and walked into the room without waiting for Arthur. Arthur tried to hide his disappointment as he followed a few steps behind, forcing a smile on his face as he took the empty seat beside Alfred, who shot a glare at Ivan before he leaned over to Arthur.

"Are you okay?" He whispered.

Arthur raised an eyebrow, "Fine, why?"  
"You look angry."  
"I have no idea what you mean."  
Alfred rolled his eyes but gave up anyway, turning his attention to where Ludwig stood at the front of the room. Arthur was barely paying attention to conversation around him, the only thing he was focusing on was what Ivan had said to him.

" _Maybe I don't want to forget about it."_

The words repeated over and over in his head and suddenly he couldn't wait until the meeting was over.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Wow okay this sucks. Sorry guys, I'm really sick and I'm having trouble thinking straight.**_

 _ **Anyway, this chapter is pretty bad and probably confusing but I'll make it up in the next few chapters! And just by the way, the part where Alfred thinks that Uber is a German company is something that happened to me irl. I argued with an American friend loudly for ten minutes in a store whenever Uber was banned in Germany or not. Pretty sure the customers thought we were both drunk/high.**_

 _ **But anyway! An important message to all my followers: I seriously need more Hetalia friends. All my irl friends are not interested ;(( So if you want to be my friend, DM me and I'll give you my E-Mail or my Instagram!  
Thanks, love you guys! :)**_


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